Why August is a great month to sell!
You hear it all the time.
“Oh, I won’t bother doing anything in August because everyone is on holiday”
Now, obviously it is true that a lot of people go on holiday in August. However, not everyone does. Even if they do, they very rarely go for the full 4 weeks. At most, will generally only be gone for 2 of the 4 weeks.
Throughout my sales career, I’ve managed to open up big deals that I’d been chasing for months in August. I know that this works.
People are still around. People are still buying and you’ll be missing a trick if you don’t.
Here’s a few reasons why you should definitely be selling in August!
Gatekeepers are often on Holiday
The bane of every sales effort is often the gatekeeper who – if they are doing their job well – will stop the majority of your calls (and emails) getting through to the decision maker.
With the gatekeeper on holiday, who picks up when you reach out?
That’s right…the decision maker…
During August, you have a much higher chance of directly getting to the decision maker. Therefore you must take full advantage of this during August.
Decision Makers are Less Busy
Generally, August is a quieter month in all businesses because there are fewer people around to create work to do. Additionally, customers are also often on holiday as well, so it really is a quiet month.
This means that decision makers suddenly have the time to plan, and potentially enact, for the future – be that the race to the end of the year or plan strategy for future years.
All those jobs that have been put off, or moved lower down the priority list, suddenly begin to be addressed.
August, therefore, is a great time to target them when they have
- The time to think
- The capacity to take action
- The willingness to look at jobs they’ve been ignoring
Decision Makers are often in Good Moods
Very often, in August, I find that decision makers are in very good moods. Everything’s a bit quieter, the weather is (usually) a bit nicer. They may have had a holiday or are looking forward to one, and that one annoying employee whom they hate managing is away for two whole weeks. They’re living the dream!
When a decision maker is in a good mood, their guard is down and they are much more willing to talk and listen to alternative ideas that could help them.
This is usually helped by their ability to be more objective about the current situation and also, potentially, helped by the plans they’ve been able to build because they’ve been less busy.
Therefore, you should take advantage of the good mood and get in touch now to get in front of your decision maker.
The Final Quarter of the Year is fast approaching
For many businesses October-December are the busiest periods. This is when the largest amount of economic activity happens before things slow again in January.
Therefore, if you leave your sales efforts to September, your decision makers will be too busy to consider new ideas.
Therefore, you should sell all through August so that when your decision maker comes to making decisions in September, you’re front of mind.
To Conclude
For many reasons August is an excellent time to be selling. While you might not get through to everyone, you have a much higher chance of getting through to that one decision maker you’ve been chasing forever. Therefore, don’t let your brain trick you into relaxing in August, if anything, it’s the time to ramp up activity so that you can maximise potential sales.
And, of course, if you need any help, we’d be delighted to offer guidance and help you maximise the potential that August can bring.